Warrens offloaded by 3i

3i has sold its stake in construction industry supplier A Warren & Sons after almost eight years in a £14 million deal that secured a 3.3 times return on investment for the private equity giant.

BSS, itself a distributor of heating, plumbing and pipeline equipment to the construction markets, is the acquiring firm and has agreed to pay £14 million in cash for ‘Warrens’ with up to £750,000 more following depending on certain provisions.

3i initially invested £1.7 million for a minority stake in the business in February 1998, as part of a management buy-in. ‘Warrens has been a good investment for us and has performed strongly, quadrupling sales and expanding from one to four branches [in this time],’ states 3i director Will Clark.

With outlets in Oldham, Birmingham, Leeds and London and having generated a £1.5 million operating profit in 2004, BSS hopes Warrens will ‘enhance the range and depth of products supplied,’ by its own industrial division.

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Leslie Copeland

Gordon Yost

Leslie was made Editor for Growth Company Investor magazine in 2000, then headed up the launch of Business XL magazine, and then became Editorial Director in 2007 for the online and print publication portfolio...

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